JOHANNESBURG – Sibanye-Stillwater has confirmed that a fifth body has now been recovered from the Kloof Ikamva shaft.

The group of five miners died after going down a disused shaft on Monday and there's still no clear explanation as to why they were there.

It’s understood they died of heat exhaustion.

The mine's spokesperson Thabisile Phumo says: “Now that we’ve concluded the rescue effort, we’ll be engaging with the families in terms of the individuals’ funeral plans that they have in place and we’ll send out communication in terms of the way forward and regarding their memorial service because obviously we need to talk to other stakeholders about that.”

The matter has led to calls for Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Manatshe to close Sibanye-Stillwater. But Mantashe has described that call by Cosatu as reckless and populist.